Blowback in Business: How to Avoid Unintended and Undesired Consequences in Decision-making

Whilst there are many books which deal with decision making in a general, process or mathematical sense, there are very few books which address the nature of poor decision making and particularly how to avoid decisions with unintended consequences and surprises. There are plenty of sources of influence on any significant decisions within business; the politics or culture of the organization (or of the environment in which it operates); the passage of time following the decision; the availability of information; the behaviour of customers, stakeholders or activitists and the impact of fear, greed or panic on their view of the situation. Andrew Holmes provides readers with the means to understand the nature of this influence; how to model the potential for blowback on any decisions that you may be planning, along with a series of tools and techniques for mitigating or avoiding blowback. Every week all sorts of organizations find their reputation, their share price or even their very business, under pressure because of the consequences or blowback from poor or hasty decisions. Andrew Holmes book provides you with an understanding of the phenomenon as well as a very practical guide to more resilient decision making. This book will provide the reader with a clear understanding of the nature of blowback, how to assess it and how to avoid it.

Andrew Holmes is a writer, management consultant and Managing Partner of Paricint LLP. He has consulted with many household names in the UK and overseas and has written 13 books on a range of business topics, including Failsafe IS Project Delivery, The Chameleon Consultant and Commotization and the Strategic Response for Gower, as well as non-fiction and humour titles.